The psychology of winning usually refers to sports, but the principles apply to life – even innovation. One of the great lessons I learned from sports was the importance of staying focused on the process, not the end result. Keep the end in mind – yes – but focus on the task at hand, the process.

Every college place kicker knows the importance of focusing on “kicking through the ball” (process) not the fact that he must make the field goal to win the game (result).

Winning any complicated game requires staying relentlessly focused on the process – staying in the moment with the task at hand – and letting the results take care of themselves. If we don’t know the process, follow a flawed process, or get distracted by focusing on the results, we are likely to fail.

Innovation leaders may be especially susceptible to focusing on the result rather than the process because of the way innovation is often defined. The Merriam Webster online dictionary, for example, defines innovation as:

• A new idea, method, or device
• The introduction of something new

Notice that these definitions define the results of successful innovation but say nothing about the process of innovation. Is it any wonder then, that many companies focus on generating ideas before they understand their customers’ needs?

That’s why I make a point of defining innovation as:

“The process of discovering the target customers’ unmet needs and then develop solution ideas to address them.”

The key to innovation success is to shift your focus away from generating ideas to understanding what jobs your target customers are trying to accomplish. Generating great new product/service ideas is the result of understanding your target customers’ needs.

If you understand your target customers’ unmet needs first, then generating great new product and service ideas is dramatically easier. The best creativity trigger is a well-defined customer need.

This is how leading firms are winning consistently at innovation. You can, too.